Speed-changing gearing.



J. E. HINCHMAN.

SPEED CHANGING GEARING.

Patented Aug. 10, 1915.

APPLICATION I-:ILED 061.1

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' and balanced about the axes of shafts 12 and JAMES E. HINCHMAN, 0FRUSI-IVILLE, INDIANA..

` SPEED-CHANGING GEARIING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 10, 1915.

Application led October 1, 1910. Serial No. 584,857.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES E. HINCHMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Rushville, in the county of Rush and State of Indiana, haveinvented a new and useful Speed-Changing Gearing, of which the followingis a specification. v

In transmission gearing, such as is commonly used in automobiles" forvarying the speed of the car, it is common to provide a power shaft, atransmitting shaft, and an intermediate shaft, with intermeshing gearswhich may be relatively shifted in order to vary the power connectionbetween the power shaft and the transmission shaft, but'I p in all thosedevices with which I am familiar there is but one active countershaft atany one time and the consequence is that there is a very considerableside thrust upon the several shafts ldue to the interaction of thegears. y

The object of my present invention is, therefore, to provide atransmission gearing wherein thepower shaft and transmission shafts arepreferably in direct alinement and the gears of which simultaneouslymesh with identical corresponding gears upon a multiplicity ofcountershafts balanced about the power shaft and transmissionnshaft aXesso that the power shaft and transmission shaft will practically floatbetween the several countershafts.

A further object of my invention is to provide a supplemental train ofgearing by meansof which the transmission shaft may be driven at a verylow speed.

The accompanying drawing, which" is an axial section, illustrates a.desirable embodiment of my invention."

In the drawings, 10 indicates a suitable inclosing casing having at oneend a bearing 11 within which is mounted the power shaft 12, said powershaft carrying, at its inner end, a gear 13 and a clutch member 14. Inthe present form the gear" 13 is provided with an axial pocket 15receiving a bearing 16 which supports the inner end of the transmissionshaft 17, said shaft being eX- tended through the oppositenside of thecasing 10 and supported by a suitable bearing 18.

Mounted in suitable bearings in casing 10,

17, are several countershafts 19 each counter-shaft carrying anidentical serles of gears.

e It Will be readily understood that the eXact arrangement of thesegears will depend upon the uses to 'which the apparatus is put and thepresent drawing is intended therefore merely as illustrative. In thepresent drawing, each countershaft 19 carries agear 2l which meshes withgear 13. Each countershaft also carries gears 22, 23and 24 within casing10 and one end of each countershaft is projected through the casingandprovided at its outer end with a gear 25. Splined uponshaft 17 is acompound gear and clutch member comprising clutch member 26 and gears 27and 28, the construction and proportions being such that the clutchmember 26 inay engage with vclutch member 14 when gears 27 and 28 areboth out of mesh with their corresponding gears on the countershaft, andsuch that gears 27 and 28 may be meshed alternately with the gears 22and 23 of the countershafts. A

For` the purpose of permitting reverse at comparatively high speed Iprovide, within casing 10, as many stud shafts 31 as there arecountershafts 19 and each of these stud shafts carries a long gear 32which meshes with an adjacent gear 24 and is of sufficient with it, inan ordinary manner.

The shaft 17 at its outer end is connected to the traction wheels of anautomobile in any desired manner and upon the outer end of this shaft Imount an internal transmission gear 41 which is preferably provided withinternal gear 42 adapted to mesh with all of the gears 25. This gear maybe length to permit gear 28 to be slid into mesh splined upon the shaftso as to rotate continuously therewith but I prefer to mount the gearfreely upon the shaft and provide it with a clutch element 43 adapted tointermesh with a clutch element 44 carried by shaft 17, the arrangementbeing such that when gear 42 is thrown out of mesh with gears 25 the twoclutch elements will be separated and the shaft 17 thus rotate freelywithin the member 41.

It will be understood that suitable shifting elements will be providedby means of which the member 41 and the compound member 26-27-28 may beshifted to desired positions.

ranged beveled gears 46 and y47' either of which is adapted to beengaged by the driving pinion 48 carried byshaft 49 connected byuniversal joint 51 with shaft 17. Any suitable means maybe provided forcausing theproper mesh of gear 48 with either of the gears 4G or 47 andin the present drawing I have shown a common structure consisting of aneccentric 52 which carries bearings for shaft 49, the arrangement beingsuch that a half revolutlon of the eccentric will shift gear 48laterally from one of th'e differential gears to the other.

1n operation, tliedesired speeds may be obtained by proper shifting ofthe compound element 26-27-28 and whenever this element is placed sothat the power is transmitted through gears to the shaft 17 it will benoticed that such transmission takes place' through two or more sets ofcountershaft, gears and consequently, because these A countershafts arebalanced about the Iaxis ofthe driving shaft, the side thrusts due tothe meshing of the main shaft-gears with the countershaft gears, arelbalanced about 4the axes of the'main shafts, thus relieving the bearingsand increasing the efficiency of the apparatus.

When the compound element 26-27-28 is shifted into an inactive positionthe gear 42 may be shifted into mesh with gears 25 .so that the speed ofshaft 17 is reduced very greatly and the power applied to the tractio`nWheels thus greatly increased. l Desired direction of movement'of thetraction wheels is then lobtained by, proper shifting of ing a powershaft, a transmission sha t, a4

plurality, of countershafts arranged alongslde the power andtransmission shafts, a

gear carried bythe power shaft, a pluralityl of gears one carried byeach countershaft -and all meshing with the gear of the power shaft, agear carried by the transmission shaft, a plurality of gears. onecarried by` each. countershaft and arranged for simultaneous engagementwith, or disengagement from, the gear on the transmission shaft, a thirdplurality of gears one carried by each countershaft, an internalgearcarried by the transmission shaft and adapted to-mesh simultaneouslywith all of said third plurality of gears, and means 'for establishingconnection between the countershafts and transmission shafts throughsaid internal gear.

2. IA power transmission gearing comprising a power shaft, atransmission shaft alined therewith, a plurality of countershafts`arranged alongside the power and transmission shafts, aI gear carriedby the power shaft, a plurality of gears one carried by eachcountershaftand all meshing with the gear of the power shaft, agear-'carried by the 'transmission shaft, a plurality of gears onecarried by each countershaft and arranged for simultaneous engagementwith, or disengagement from, the gear 'on the transmission shaft, athird plurality of gears onecarried by each countershaft, an internalgear carried by the transmission shaft and adapted to meshsimultaneously with all of said third plurality of gears, and means forestablishing driving connection between the countershafts andtransmission shafts through said internal gear.

. 3. A power transmission gearing compris- 111g a power shaft, atransmission shaft alined therewith, a countershaft arranged adjacentthe power and .transmission shafts, a gear carried by the power shaft, agear carried by the countershaft and meshing with'the power shaft gear,a gear carried by the transmission shaft, a gear carried by thecounter-shaft and adapted to be meshed with, or disconnected from,the,gear on the transmission shaft, a third gear carried by thecounter-shaft, an internal'gear carried by the transmission shaft andadapted to mesh with said third countershaft gear, and means forestablishing connection between the countershaft and transmission shaftthrough said internal gear.

. 4. A power transmission gearing, comprising two main shafts in-axial'alinement, a multiplicity of counter shafts arranged alongside said mainshafts, a gear 'carried bylone of the main shafts, a plurality of gearscarried by each counter shaft, the gears on each counter shaft being thesame as on the other counter shafts, one gear on each counter shaftmeshing with the aforesaid gear on thel main shaft, a member .carried bythe other main shaft and Amovable longitudinally relatively'thereto,said mem- 11'0 ber comprising aclutch member for clutch` ing the twojmain shafts together and one or more gear members for engagement withone or more sets of gears on the v counter shafts, and a second membermovable longitudinally of the second main shaft and provided with aninternal gear for engagement with a set of gears on the counter shafts.

5. A power transmission gearing, comprising two main shafts in axialalinement, a multiplicity of counter shafts arranged alongside said mainshafts, a gear carried by one of ...themain shafts, a plurality of gearscarried by each counter shaft, the gears on each counter shaft being thesame as those 125 on the other counter shafts, one gear on each countershaft meshing with the aforesaid gear on the main shaft, a membercarried by the other main shaft and movable longitudinally relativelythereto, said mem- 13 ber comprising a clutch member for clutching thetwo main shafts together and one or more gear members for engagementwith one or more sets of gears on the counter Shafts, a plurality ofidler pinions meshing with gears on the counter shaft and intoengagement with which a gear on said longitudinally movable member maybe brought, and a second member movable longitudinally of the second'main shaft and provided with an internal gear for engagement with 4a,set of gears on the counter shafts.

In witness whereof, Ihave hereunto set my hand and seal at Indianapolis,Indiana, l15

this twenty-eighth day of September, A. D. one thousand nine hundred andten.

Witnesses GEORGE SMALLEY,

MARION N. MGCANN. l

